EATING OUT

EATING OUT; For Easy Picnics

Published: September 1, 2000

If a late-summer picnic appeals to you but the thought of preparing it does not, you can have a restaurant do it for you. Here are a dozen places that offer excellent picnic fare. (These summaries are taken from dining reviews, columns and articles in The Times by William Grimes, Eric Asimov and others.)

1. Avenue

+++

(212) 579-3194

520 Columbus Avenue, at 85th Street

Manhattan

$$ All major cards

With light breakfasts and lunches and a more substantial full-service French-American menu at dinner, Avenue is trying to satisfy all sorts of appetites and succeeding admirably. Last year the chef, Scott Campbell, added a baby food menu, and he now offers a picnic lunch that can include a Mason jar filled with organic baby food. Parents get to choose two sandwiches from a short list that features an Avenue club, with grilled chicken, hickory-smoked bacon, avocado and haricot verts. In addition, each picnic includes three beverages, cheddar cheese sticks, pockets full of chocolate and a pate de fruits.

2. Bouley Bakery

****

[Rating: Four stars]

(212) 964-2525

120 West Broadway, at Duane Street

TriBeCa

$$$$ All major cards

The sandwiches, salads and pastries available in the retail area at Bouley Bakery make perfect picnic fare, and the prices are quite reasonable. Salads like shrimp and broccoli, and warm fingerling potato, are $5.50 to $7.95. Sandwiches range in price from $2.50 for a mini baguette roll with prosciutto, mozzarella, fresh basil and balsamic vinegar, to $11.95 for Maryland soft-shell crab with bibb lettuce on a baguette. For dessert you can try a tart or a package of chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies.

3. Cucina & Company

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The Cellar at Macy's Herald Square

$ All major cards

This branch of Cucina & Company moved into Macy's Cellar in April, offering what busy New Yorkers have come to expect in a retail food complex: lots of prepared food, smoked fish, caviar and cheese, a pizza station, rotisserie foods, a salad bar, soup and packaged coffees, teas, condiments and pastries from Payard Patisserie on the Upper East Side. Cucina offers two custom picnic baskets for two. The International basket includes an assortment of charcuterie and cheese, bread, chocolates, fresh fruit and Badoit water. The other basket, the New Yorker, consists of a hero sandwich, two side salads, pickles, soft drinks and cheesecake. Each basket comes with utensils, plates and napkins.

4. Good and Plenty to Go

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(212) 268-4385

410 West 43rd Street

Clinton

$ All major cards

This little shop in the Manhattan Plaza complex offers some of the best carryout in the city, with superb sandwiches, excellent entrees and terrific salads. Sandwiches like grilled chicken breast, tuna salad, grilled vegetable and roast turkey are offered daily, and a revolving menu of special sandwiches often includes roast chicken, a turkey club and barbecued beef or chicken. For dessert you can try the fresh-baked cookies and brownies or the fruit salad. Boxed lunches are also available if ordered by noon a day in advance.

5. It's a Wrap

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(212) 362-7922

2012 Broadway, near 69th Street

$ All major cards

If you plan to picnic in Central Park but don't want to lug the food, you can use a cell phone to order from It's a Wrap. This may be the only restaurant that delivers food into Central Park, and the food can be excellent. The wraps are tasty and inviting and have just the right proportion of wet and dry ingredients. The combination of tangy hummus and baba gannouj with carrots, tomatoes and mesclun is particularly good. The roast pork with bean sprouts, scallions, carrot and tomato has a vaguely Vietnamese flavor. For refreshment, you might try the blueberry smoothie. It's a Wrap has another branch in Greenwich Village at 367 Avenue of the Americas, near Fourth Street.

6. Kin Khao Market

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(212) 477-4455

179 Prince Street, near Thompson Street

SoHo

$ All major cards

This little space has housed some noteworthy restaurants, including Bop, whose owner, Brad Kelley, moved it to the Bowery. Now Mr. Kelley has opened Kin Khao Market, specializing in Thai-style takeout and groceries. Kin Khao offers Bangkok Boxes that feature signature Thai dishes like grilled chicken with garlic, pepper and Thai herbs; wok-seared sun-dried beef with hot chili sauce; green papaya salad with tomatoes, string beans and lemon soy dressing; and fresh vegetable spring rolls. Each box includes fresh fruit and a ginger cookie for dessert.

7. Mark's

**

[Rating: Two stars]

(212) 879-1864

The Mark Hotel 25 East 77th Street

Manhattan

$$$ All major cards

Some restaurants specialize in picnics. Mark's at the Mark Hotel offers a backpack with a plastic picnic cloth, a wooden cutting board and a cheese knife, as well as a corkscrew, a T-shirt and a disposable camera. For $135 you also get a meal for two: salads, sandwiches and desserts, plus sundries like cheeses, fruits, nuts, petits-fours, potato chips and a half-bottle of wine.

8. Mosaico

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(212) 213-4700

175 Madison Avenue, near 33rd Street

$ All major cards

This friendly Pan-Latin takeout shop takes personal service seriously, happily helping you choose the dishes that might be best for a picnic meal. Jicama slaw with mango is tangy and refreshing, a real improvement over cabbage. The aptly named Bolivian picnic chicken, boneless breasts coated with a mustardy paste and bread crumbs, may be eaten by hand. House-made Rice Krispies treats flavored with dulce de leche are delightfully inauthentic: neither too sticky nor too sweet.